Essential_Jesus_Reading_Plan.docx

The most important question in the world is “Who is Jesus?” Your answer to that question will determine your eternal destiny. The Essential Jesus Challenge is designed to show you and remind you of what the Bible has to say about who Jesus is, so that you can answer the question with conviction and gusto, “He is my Lord and my God, my Savior and my King.”

A good starting point in answering the question “who is Jesus” are the Gospels, the first four books in the New Testament. The first three of the Gospels have remarkably similar chronology and structure. All three begin with a record of Jesus’s ancestry (Matthew and Luke) or the beginning of his public ministry (Mark). While following a chronology of Jesus’s life that is loosely shared with the previous three Gospels, the Gospel of John uses a quite different structure. When it comes to who Jesus is John starts with the realization that the man that he has followed around for three years was more than what his ancestry could showed. Yes, Jesus was a human being, but there was a truth about him that went beyond his humanity.

John starts his Gospel not with the man Jesus, but with the second person of the holy Trinity. He starts with God Himself. He refers to the Son as “the Word,” making clear that “the Word” was with God and was fully God. He affirms that creation itself, everything that has an existence apart from God, was created by “the Word.” And he affirms that as God, “the Word” has life within himself (his existence is not dependent on anything).

In verse fourteen of today’s reading John affirms that this “Word” – the Second Person of the Holy Trinity that we call “the Son” – became flesh. That is, he became a human being without forfeiting his divinity. Theologians call this event the Incarnation, the moment that God took on humanity. The Incarnation is recorded in Luke’s Gospel, when that angel Gabriel appears to Mary to deliver the joyous news that she will give birth to the promised Savior of humanity. When Mary says, “May it be to me as you have said,” Jesus was conceived. From this point on “the Word” would be forever known as “Jesus.”

So, the first thing we learn from the Gospels is that Jesus is more than just a man, more than a great teacher, more than a great moralist. Jesus is both man and God.

The rest of the readings in the Essential Jesus Challenge are chosen to help unpack what that means.

Happy reading!

Paul encourages the Christians at Philippi to be less selfish and self-centered, and to behave in a manner in keeping with members of God's family -- encouraging, tender and compassionate, being united in spirit and purpose, and having the same attitude as Jesus.

In verses 6-11 Paul describes the attitude that Jesus had. Well-known Youth Ministry lead Doug Fields sums it up well:

"The Apostle Paul (the author of Philippians) challenged Christians to be less selfish and more loving, compassionate, joyful, and united (verses 1-4). In this challenge, Paul gives one of the most amazing descriptions of Jesus in the entire Bible (verses 5-11). Let’s consider what he wrote about Jesus: 

• Jesus is God (verse 6). 

• Jesus became a human being (verses 7-8a). 

• Jesus humbled himself (verse 7). 

• Jesus obeyed God (verse 8). 

• Jesus was exalted by God (verse 9). 

• Jesus will be acknowledged by everyone (verses 10-11). 

• Jesus became obedient to death—even death on a cross (verse 8). 

Remember reading John 1:1-18… we’re not talking about an ordinary man."

How would you describe the attitude of Jesus? How is His attitude good news for you? In what ways, specifically, can Jesus be an example for you regarding your attitude?

In this week's readings we're looking for a preliminary answer to the question "Who is Jesus?" We divide human history by him -- B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini -- "in the year of the Lord"). Over 1 billion people on this planet claim to be his followers. The places where he lived out his earthly life have been places of pilgrimage for the faithful for millennia and are known collectively as the "Holy Land" because of him. But who exactly is he?

What insights do today's readings give you in understanding who Jesus is? Make a list of all the things that "Jesus is" according to these verses. Do any make you go, "Hmmmm"? Do any strike you as being especially true, or personally meaningful?

Going Deeper:

God is spirit, so there are no paintings, drawing, or sculptures of God that come to us from antiquity. But Paul writes that Jesus is "the image of the invisible God." What does that mean? One Bible commentator helps us understand this phrase a little better when he writes, "Christ is in the form of God and equal to God. To see him is to see the Father (Jn. 14:9). The point for Paul is that Christ is given to us as God’s image so that we may know what God wills and does. The concept of the image of God also makes it perfectly plain who Jesus himself is." In other words, before Jesus was born God had no physical form. But now that Jesus has come God can be seen. What does God look like? He looks like Jesus because Jesus is God.

What is God like? Look at Jesus to find out! Jesus is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (verse 3). Want to know what God thinks of the world, of human beings, of you? Look to Jesus to find out (hint: He "provided purification for sins" by dying on the cross because He loves you!). Want to know what God likes and doesn't like? A closer examination of the life of Jesus will tell you. 

Jesus was a man, but He was no ordinary man! He was also God enfleshed. So if you want to know what God is like, then you're in for a treat, because our reading plan is all about Jesus. By getting to know him better you're going to get to know God a LOT better!

Want to have an interesting conversation with a good friend? Ministry consultant Doug Fields says to try this: 

Ask someone this question: “What do you think God is like?” Just listen. Don’t judge. If the person returns the question to you, simply say, “I think he’s just like Jesus.” See where the conversation goes from there. 

How does Peter describe believers in this passage? How does he describe Jesus? How does Peter describe the relationship between Jesus and believers? 

The relationship between Jesus and believers is a deep mystery, and the Bible uses several images drawn from real life to help explain it. We've read in one of our readings this week that the Church is "the body of Christ." That's one image. Today's reading uses the image of a building. A house is made up of many bricks that are cemented together. In a similar way, though not an exact way, Christians are cemented together in Christ to be a "spiritual house" -- a temple of His Holy Spirit. But the important part of this image is that Jesus Christ himself is the foundation. We are united only in Him.

But to underscore the point that in trying to describe the Church he is describing a mystery, Peter shifts the imagery he uses in verses 9-10. Now the Church is described as a nation, a "people belonging to God." What are some of the descriptors that Peter uses here beyond "the people of God"? What is our purpose now as God's people? (The answer is in verse 9!).

When you came to faith in Jesus as your Savior not only were you individually given the gift of God's forgiveness of your sins and so, too, eternal life in Christ, but you were also grafted into the Church through your personal union with Jesus. How cool is that!

In this week's readings we'll be exploring the question, "Why do I NEED a Savior?" As in all things, getting back to the basics is a great help. And the basics for us -- for humanity -- start long ago in the mists of prehistory, when the earth was new and humanity was brought into existence.

In Genesis 1:26 we are told that God humanity in His own image. Then we're told that God placed the first man and woman in a Garden paradise called "Eden." He gave them just one rule to follow: "Don't eat from this specific tree!" There they lived in a perfect relationship with God, with each other, and with all of the rest of creation. 

Then, in Chapter 3 -- today's reading -- we are told how it all went horribly wrong. The serpent tempts Eve. Notice its tactics in verse 1: He asks a question designed to get Eve to question God's Word. "Did God really say...?" As the serpent (later revealed to be the Devil) continues to talk with Eve notice what happens. The fruit of the forbidden tree begins to look very good. She begins to desire to be like God by eating the fruit of that tree. And her thoughts and desires finally become action. Her husband, Adam, follows suit with an astonishing lack of resistance. The book of James, Chapter 1 tells us plainly that we are tempted when desire gets the best of us and becomes action -- intentional disobedience of God's commands. That's what sin is, disobeying God's Word.

When eventually confronted by God for their disobedience the man and the woman are punished. The image of God that they bore was lost, replaced by the desire to be like God that caused them to sin in the first place. And Genesis 5:1, 3a tells us the consequences for all of humanity: "5:1 When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God...3a When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image;..." Through the disobedience of our first parents human nature was completely corrupted, and that corrupted nature is passed down to everyone born into this world.

That's why we need a Savior! A corrupted nature cannot fix/clean/mend/restore itself. If there is to be a cure it must come from outside. And that's why God sent Jesus! Jesus was sent into humanity as an invasion force from heaven to rescue humanity from its own sin and folly! 

But just how deep does out sin go that it would take the very Son of God Himself to become one of us in order to save us? Keep up the readings for this week to find out!

There's a lot going on in today's reading! Let's focus on the essential activity.

It seems incredible that after witnessing all of the miracles that God performed to free the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt -- the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, etc. -- that Israel would so easily rebel against God by making a Golden Calf and worshipping it as the "god" who had freed them. But that's what they did. It's something that we see over and over again in the Bible; people or persons witnessing God's miracles in one minute and then completely forgetting what they've seen and engaging in sin of various sorts, whether idolatry, or doubt, or fear.

It happens still today. People are persuaded in one minute that they have seen a mighty working of God in their lives, and the next minute they are filled with questions about God's presence or even existence.

It happens because human beings are sinners. Sin is active disobedience of God that stems from an inner, unacknowledged (but still very real) spirit of rebellion against God. So doubting, forgetting, sinning -- they all come naturally to us. WE NEED A SAVIOR! Israel's worshipping of the Golden Calf is just one example of that reality. 

God is rightly angry over Israel's sin. But even here we see a wonderful example of God's plan for dealing with the problem of sin. Moses offers to take the punishment that the people deserve (vs. 31-32). He is willing to make what we call "atonement" -- that is, satisfying the requirements necessary to restore our relationship with God. It's a foreshadowing of what Jesus actually did on the cross thousands of years later. 

Sin may be ever present in us, but the Good News is that in Jesus Christ God's grace is ever present, too; present to forgive our sin because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, our Savior.

Author Whitney T. Kuniholm has a fantastic reflection on today's reading. I share it with you:

"Years ago, my wife and I made friends with a couple who wouldn't go to church. They were committed to their marriage, were loving parents and were involved in the community. But they were firm in their resistance to organized religion. Why? They didn't want to damage their son's self-esteem by exposing him to any talk about sin.

   It would be nice if sin only affected the "bad guys" of the world, those who deny God (v. 1) and aggressively pursue an evil agenda (v. 4). There's no doubt that it does; we only have to read the daily news to see evidence of that. But David says sin also affects the "good guys." We've all "turned aside"; we're all "corrupt." No one is good, "not even one" (v. 3).

   That may seem harsh or negative at first, especially for those who identify themselves with the "good guys." But if sin affects everyone, as David states, then it's not healthy to deny its hold on us. And that's why a good church is so important. Like a hospital, it doesn't give us the problem; it helps us diagnose and deal with it.

   But it's important not to let our understanding of sin cause us to misunderstand God. It's true, he hates sin. But it's not true that he enjoys catching people in their sins, as so many seem to think. In fact, his desire for us is just the opposite. He's actively looking for those who are seeking a deeper relationship with him (v. 2).

   David ends his psalm with a prayer for a savior. "Oh, that salvation would come out to Zion!" (v. 7). God answered that prayer centuries later when he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to restore all people from captivity to sin. That's reason to rejoice and be glad!

Pray: Dear God, in spite of all my inconsistencies, I do desire a deeper relationship with you. Help me to understand you better and experience you more. Amen.

Once again, Author Whitney T. Kuniholm shares a wonderful reflection on today's reading in his book "The Essential Jesus: 100 Readings through the Bible's Greatest Story":

   President Calvin Coolidge was famous for giving short answers. It is reported that he was once questioned about a church service he had attended and allegedly answered as follows. Question: “Did you like the sermon today?” Coolidge: “Yes.” Question: “What was the sermon about?” Coolidge: “Sin.” Question: “So, what did the preacher say about sin?” Coolidge: “He’s against it.”

   This reading from Isaiah reminds us once again that God is against sin. That means we should be too, for several important reasons. First, sin separates us from God (v. 2) We first saw this when Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:2-324). By the time of Isaiah, people were even more distant from God; they had lost the ability to experience his presence or communicate with him at all (Isaiah 59:2). Today, the distance has gotten so great that some people mistakenly think God is dead, or that he never existed at all.

   Second, sin leads to a breakdown of fundamental values. The modern bumper sticker that reads “No justice. No peace.” could just as easily have been written by Isaiah (v. 8). He mentions justice six times in this reading alone. But as we work for justice today, we must be careful not to define it according to a short list of political issues. Biblical justice means doing what’s right for all people, especially the poor and oppressed (Psalm 82:3-4).

   Finally, sin causes a rejection of truth. Isaiah used the image of a person stumbling and lost in the street (Isaiah 59:14-15). Most people today believe in some form of their “own truth.” But when truth becomes relative, society loses its reference points and wanders ever further from God.

   It’s no surprise that God is against sin. What is surprising is that in spite of our continual rebellion against him, God has had a plan to save us from it all along (vv. 20-21). The plan was to send a Redeemer (v. 20) – Jesus Christ – who could restore the broken relationship forever.

We're getting closer to Christmas, and soon parents will be taking their kids to the mall to see Santa. The kiddos will sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. "Have you been a good boy/girl?" He'll ask. But the thing is that the shopping mall Santa doesn't really know what the kids have done, and he doesn't really care. He just chuckles and promises that they'll get what they want. Is that how God feels when we sin? He doesn't know and he doesn't care, He'll just give us what we ask for? Not exactly! 

God has some pretty strong words about sin: “I hate… I despise… I cannot stand… I will not accept… I will have no regard… I will not listen” (21-23). Bottom line: God hates sin with passion! It can be frightening to think of God being angry. But when you consider the depth of his hatred for sin, can you begin to fully appreciate the power of his love for you by sending his own Son? Jesus willingly died for the sins of the world, the sins that God hated so much. That’s not anger; it’s overwhelming love. 

     If you've ever been to the movies (and who hasn't) you know what a "preview" is -- snippets of an upcoming movie that give you a glimpse of what's to come. Jesus said on numerous occasions that the Old Testament spoke about him, that it contained snippets of the Savior that God would one day send. 

   There are two general ways that the Old Testament points to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. One, which we're probably most familiar with, is prophesy. Prophecy is a saying by one of the Prophets that directly points to the coming Savior. "Unto us a child is born...and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) is an example.

   The other way that the Old Testament points to Jesus is through "types." Types are simply a person, thing, or event that points to Jesus is the New Testament. Many people find that a basic understanding of types (typology) greatly enriches their reading and understanding of the Old Testament.

   In this week's readings we will look at five Old Testament types that are specifically mentioned in the New Testament -- The Passover, manna in the wilderness, Moses lifting up the bronze serpent, the temple, and Jonah in the big fish. Each will give us a unique glimpse of the Savior, Jesus, who would come centuries later.

   As we launch into our study of these Old Testament passages we can be encouraged that we are following a teaching method used by Jesus himself with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).

Today's reading is, honestly, kind of gross -- slaughtering animals, smearing blood, widespread death. Yuck! And yet this passage is one of the most important passages in the Bible! It marks the turning point in the history of Israel, the moment that their 430 years of slavery in Egypt came to an end.

Moses and Aaron had gone to Pharaoh nine times to demand that he "let my (God's) people go." Each time Pharaoh hardened his heart and said, "NO!" And each time God sent a devastating plaque in response. The killing of the first born was the tenth and final plague that God unleashed on Egypt, and the result was that Pharaoh finally relented and let Israel go free. It was THE great miracle in the history of Israel, the one where God most miraculously showed his great power and might in defense of His people.

Israel was protected from the plague by following God's instruction to slaughter a male sheep or goat that was "without defect", and to smear its blood on their door posts. The killing of the lamb and shedding of its blood is itself a "type" of Jesus.

In the New Testament Jesus is referred to as a lamb. John the Baptist called Jesus "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Peter called him a "Lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19). And John described him as the "Lamb that was slain" (Revelation 5:12). The Passover lamb was one of the first previews of God's plan of salvation.

And just as the blood of the Passover lamb became the essential element that saved the children of Israel, so the blood of Jesus shed on the cross became the essential element that secured salvation for all humanity.

   Jesus picked up this theme at the Last Supper when he offered his disciples a cup of wine and called it "the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). In doing this he transformed the Passover of Israel into make salvation available to all people (1 Corinthians 5:7).

In today’s Scripture reading is another sign pointing to Jesus the Savior. In the New Testament, when the religious leaders demanded a miracle, Jesus pointed to this passage. He said that just as Moses provided manna to meet the physical need of people, so he, Jesus, was the “true bread” who satisfied the ultimate need of all people—the need for a restored and eternal relationship with God.

Just as food is necessary to sustain life, so Jesus is necessary to gain and sustain eternal life. He is the indispensable ingredient that provides the soul's nourishment that results in Life. 

Sometimes parents have to discipline their children through the use of punishment in order to teach them an important lesson. In today's reading God acts like a parent with the people of Israel. They were grumbling against the God that had delivered them from slavery with mighty displays of his power and his love for them. How short their memory was!

Now at first glance you might think, “What’s the big deal? Weren’t the Israelites just being negative”? Well, yes, and they were also challenging God (verse 5)—that’s at the very heart of all sin. 

So God punished them for their grumbling by sending venomous snakes into their camp. And when the people learned their lesson and repented of their grumbling against the living God, he provided a way of salvation for those who had been bitten. He told Moses to make a bronze snake on a pole and to lift it up so that whoever had been bitten and looked at that snake would be healed and saved; saved from the poison in them that caused death.

Centuries later Jesus would show that the bronze serpent in the wilderness was meant to point to Him and the kind of death that he was going to die. In the Gospel according to John Jesus says this: "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:31-32). 

Just as the Israelites were saved by looking to the bronze snake lifted up on a pole, so sinners are saved by looking to Jesus lifted up on the cross. We are saved from the poison of sin in us that caused eternal death by believing in God's promise that whoever looks to the crucified and risen Jesus will be forgiven for their sin and thus saved.

The bronze serpent/snake was a "type" (a preview) of Jesus.

This reading describes the “ribbon-cutting ceremony” (or the grand opening) for a magnificent new Temple that King Solomon built as a place of worship. The temple replaced the Tabernacle (a tent) that God had commanded Moses to build as a place of worship as they traveled through the wilderness to the Promised Land. God's presence dwelt in the Tabernacle, symbolized by the cloud of his glory that settled on the most holy place when it was dedicated. The same thing happened when the Temple was consecrated. People would go to the Temple to meet with God (1 Kings 8:11-13). The Temple, then, came to symbolize the place where God dwelt among His people.

In the Gospel of John (John 1:14) we are told that the Son of God (the Word) became flesh and dwelt among us. A more literal translation would be "...became flesh and tabernacled among us. Jesus was literally God dwelling among us as one of us. His body was the place where God dwelt among His people. So the Old Testament Temple, as the place of God's dwelling, pointed to the coming Savior who would be THE place of God's dwelling.